Photo: Brett Jordan
Instagram might introduce Ad Breaks that will pause you from scrolling for 3-5 seconds.
Instagram has been testing a new feature that’s causing quite a buzz: unskippable ads. Called Ad Breaks, these ads will pause your scrolling for 3-5 seconds before you can continue.
Android Authority noticed this after several users started complaining on social media. Meta might be doing this to make more money, especially with Apple’s privacy features limiting how apps can track users and TikTok growing in popularity.
Instagram is already packed with ads, but this new feature could make it even more frustrating. After viewing three stories, you’ll see up to two ads. The same goes for your feed, the search tab, or even someone’s photos. Now, an unskippable ad could stop you from seeing your feed for up to five seconds.
Right now, we don’t know how wide this test is or how many users and countries are affected. It’s similar to what YouTube does: if you’re not a premium subscriber, you have to watch a bunch of ads before your video plays, and even during the video.
Unlike Meta, Google offers YouTube Premium, which lets you skip ads and enjoy other perks. In Europe, Meta has an ad-free subscription, but it’s not clear if they’ll roll this out to other regions. One would rather pay to avoid ads than deal with a frustrating platform experience. Individuals who don’t use Instagram enough will not be affected by this possible change, but hardcore users are pretty upset.
On Reddit, one user said: “This’ll be the last straw for me regarding Instagram. I could stand the plethora of ads sprinkled throughout the entire app already, but unskippable?” Over on X, people are saying this will make them stop using the app. One user wrote: “Oh my god, Instagram has added ‘ad breaks’ where they won’t let you scroll past an ad until you wait 3 seconds. I guess they’ll be my ‘get off Instagram’ notifications.”
